Reindeer Bag -

I always find it absolutely hilarious the last day of school before Christmas break when my little students are carrying a pile of Christmas work from the last month that is literally the size of them. After seeing these little people struggle to get on the bus my first year of teaching,

I thought it would be good to come up with an easier way for my students to carry all of their work home and that is where the Reindeer Bag came into fruition. Not only is it serve a very important purpose, but it is also cute so WIN WIN! Are you looking for more Christmas ideas, activities, and printables to do at home or in the classroom? If so click here.

What You Need for Your Reindeer Bag

–Brown Paper Grocery Bag

-Templates for Bag (see below for free download)

-Red Construction Paper

-Black Construction Paper

-White Construction Paper

-Black Marker

See the tutorial here or scroll down for more information:

Getting Your Reindeer Bag Ready

First you will need to get the handles off of each bag. Next you will use the antler template (see below for free download) provided above and trace the antlers at the top of the bag. You will do this by cutting out the template on the paper and then laying it on the bag. You will want to place the template at the top of the bag where it opens. You can either cut out all of the bags or leave it for your students to cut when you complete the reindeer bag activity.

If your students are able to trace and cut, you will also want to make tracer cards for your students so they can trace all of the different pieces prior to completing this activity. You can do this by printing out the template on cardstock (regular paper will work too). You can also use a manila folder because it is much thicker than regular paper. I typically make a handful of tracers for each of the pieces and label with the color of construction paper they will be using. I put each set in a ziploc baggie.

I also recommend cutting the construction paper down to limit the amount of wasted paper. I typically cut the white construction paper in half, the red paper if fourths, and the black construction paper in eights.

If you have younger students doing this or you do not want the hassle of having your students trace and cut the pieces, I recommend cutting them prior to or even having a parent come in and do those for you the week before.

Doing Your Reindeer Bag

One thing I really like about this, is that students get to make their own reindeer. You could obviously glue all the pieces down on the bags and have it ready, but it is so much more meaningful when students complete something and let them take ownership of their own reindeer bag and create everything on their own.

When the day comes for students to complete their reindeer bag, I have a completed one at the front of the classroom for students to use as a guide. I pass out the ziploc baggies (eat with a set of tracers) to students around the room. They will trace what they need to and then pass out to another friend. Definitely encourage your students to put the tracers back into the ziploc baggie when they pass it around so the pieces do not get lost and mixed together. It is not the end of the world if this happens, but it is definitely easier in terms of keeping track of all the pieces.

So when the last day before break arrives and it is time for students to take home the insane amount of Christmas materials they have been working on over the past several weeks, you have them open their bags and place everything inside and then they can easily carry it home to show their parents all of their hard work!